Pork Recipes For The Man In Your Life

Meat is expensive so when there's a good deal on meat, I stock up.  In fact, we bought an upright freezer for the garage so we'd have more storage to be able to stock up.  A piece of meat that tends to go on sale every couple of months is pork butt, also known as, pork shoulder roast.  The sale price is typically $1.98/lb.  The first time I bought this I had no idea how to cook it, so I turned to the trusty Pioneer Woman.  She has an amazing recipe that is extremely easy, it is called Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork.  In my house I call it Spicy Pop Pulled Pork because I don't use just Dr. Pepper but any pop I have on hand.  And I pull the pork, not shred it.

Follow me on this tangent will you?  This has been up for debate recently in my house so I'm curious to know your stand.  What do you call a carbonated beverage?  I call it "pop" which is more common for the north.  In the south they typically call it "soda".  Oddly, I grew up in Oklahoma yet I have always called it pop.  I have no idea why; maybe I've always been destined to live in the north.  My husband says he doesn't call it "pop" or "soda" but what it actually is (ex: root beer, coca-cola, etc).  Where does that mean he's destined to live?  What do you call it?

Okay, so back to the pork.  Here's a picture of P-Dub's pork, yum!  On different occasions I have made it with root beer (Barq's and A&W), diet Coke and cherry coke.  I have made it with and without the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Every way I have made it, it always turns out delicious.  Take note that the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are VERY SPICY!  We are a spice loving family and pile on the jalapenos every chance we get, but even we think the chipotle peppers are spicy.  In fact, I usually only put in 1/3-1/2 of the can and save the rest in the fridge for another recipe.  

Typically, pork shoulder roasts do not come in small sizes.  I buy the smaller ones and those are still 3-4 lbs which is a lot of meat for a family of three.  Therefore to use up all the pork, we usually do the following: 

1. Make it for a crowd, having either pulled pork sandwiches or tacos
2. Make Spicy Pulled Pork Nachos 
3. Make Spicy Pulled Pork & Pepperoni Pizza

Needless to say it is my husband's favorite week when we make the pork because he loves pork, he loves nachos and he loves pizza!  He is the master creator when it comes to the nachos and pizza so I am not at liberty to share the recipes but he has allowed me to share pictures of his creations.  

I will say that the nachos might or might not have chips, pulled pork, freshly shredded pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapeno slices and salsa (there would have been sour cream too but we were out).  If i'm not in the mood for chips, then I'll pile the pork on rice then add the toppings.  I suppose you could call it a Pulled Pork Rice Bowl.  I have to admit though, most often I'm in the mood for chips. :)

I will also say that the pizza might or might not start with pizza dough made in the bread maker, rolled out and the crust stuffed with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, then is topped with olive oil, pizza sauce, diced onions, minced garlic, freshly shredded monterey jack cheese, pepperoni, pulled pork and a little extra monterey jack, then cooked at 450F for 15-20 minutes on a pizza stone.  I'm ALWAYS in the mood for my husband's pizza!  He makes THE BEST pizza and the pulled pork pizza is my favorite kind.  Over the years we have found the secret to the best pizza is using freshly shredded cheese (sharp cheddar & monterey jack are our favorites) and flavorful meat.